As Durego and Ohwatoo watch from the trail, Rawon reappears outside the tower and waves all clear. He moves a dozen paces toward the mule train. "Nothing alive in there, but they're searching. Ingvild is going to try and climb to the roof. Keep watch." The elf takes position beside a stout oak, peering up through the trees as best he can. Dagmarten keeps watch at the tower door, sling ready.
Maro briefly reappears outside, cuts and trims a pair of saplings, and then goes back inside. He and Raúguey poke and prod at the debris on the floor, moving bones and rotted gear aside as they go. Meanwhile Ingvild makes his attempt at the walls, using one of the old window frames to get partway up, then following the notches used to support the stairs, he reaches the roof easily. The twig and stick nests are exactly that, nests. There are five of them, each about six or eight feet across. There are a few thick dull-gray shell fragments in two of them, but no other signs of life. The remaining sections of the roof are fairly secure, and a scan of the skies (clearly visible from the rooftop) show no intruders on the horizon, other than a lone vulture off to the northeast. "Mordikarr, come up and help me search," he calls, tying off a length of rope to one of the crenelations.
Once the beastmaster is up they begin searching. The thief hits paydirt in the first nest he searches, finding a heavy, clinking mass secured in a square of leather. "By Agnia, this was a good idea," he mutters, as he moves to the next nest.
"Little bag of shinies," says Mordikarr.
Those upstairs and down end up spending ten minutes searching. Those above having more success, though Raúguey makes the most dramatic discovery below, a short-bladed sword with a shimmering yellow blade. [more details on finds below.] Satisfied that they have thoroughly searched, the pair on the roof use a looped rope to descend, then everyone gathers at the mules. Ingvild starts to count coins, but Ohwatoo says, "Let's not linger here. We'll have time for that tonight. We should get away from here before whatever lives in there comes back."
Rawon agrees. "Ohwatoo is right, just bag all this and load it on the mules."
The party bags up their finds, discarding the crude sacks and improvised containers the... whatever they were, had used. It's a fair bit of coin, though a lot of it is silver and copper, plus a few gems and a couple other items. With it all stowed, they head out, following the roadway, the sun already well into the western half of the sky.
Past the tower, the roadway turns northwest. A few miles later the oaks, maples, and ashes give way to white pines and cedars. The path becomes difficult to follow, the faint line of its passage obscured by thick needles and new growth. Soggy patches produce tiny creeks that lead away east and northeast. The road turns again, this time to the north, and the party spends the rest of the afternoon and early evening traipsing through thick pines, breaking a path through the dead lower branches for the mules. The light beneath the thick boughs dims quickly as the sun goes down, but the party has plenty of light sources. They push on a while in hopes of finding a better campsite, but the woods continue. Finally Dagmarten calls a halt. "We marched all day yesterday, and again today. These woods go on forever. We should break now, and get some rest. This is the driest spot we've seen in an hour."
The others agree, though Durego mutters something about being too close to the nest tower. After breaking off a bunch of the lower branches and tethering the mules, the party makes a quick meal over a small, hot fire, then turns their attention to the treasure...
OOC
This is what you found:
- 300 GP
- 1900 SP
- 2100 CP
- 5 small gems (unknown values)
- 3 gold and copper necklaces
- short sword with shimmering yellow blade
- a thin, featureless wand made from some smooth tan material
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